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I received a of couple letters from readers asking how to start a colts training from scratch. I believe all training endeavors should start with the most basic of training tools, the round pen. You can purchase round pen panels from most any farm supply store. The number of panels you would need depends on the size of the round pen you want. But if youd like to make your own round pen then here are a few tips to get you started.

First you will need to decide how big a round pen you want. Thirty feet is about as small as you would care to go because this size of pen would be used mostly for longing, and for the first few rides on a green broke colt. A forty to sixty foot pen would be the average. For the sake of this article well pretend were going to make a forty foot pen. Walk out to your stable area and look around for a level spot of ground that is at least forty feet across. Now place a tent stake down in the center of this spot. The radius for a forty foot pen is twenty feet so youll want to find a string and measure and cut it for twenty feet long. Tie one end of the string onto the stake and stretch your string out to its full length. Now we need to know the circumference, which is 3.14 times forty feet which rounds up to 126 feet.

Next we mark where we want the posts to go by using more stakes. Decide where you want your two gate posts to go first. Place the gate stake at the end of the twenty foot string. Move the string over four feet for a four foot gate (more for a bigger gate) and place another stake. Four feet minus 126 leaves 122. Divide the 122 by how many posts you want. The more posts you have the sturdier the pen. For twelve posts, you will use your string and walk around placing a stake every ten feet. In the end you should come out with twelve posts, plus the post youre going to hang your gate on. Thirteen posts in all will complete your forty foot round pen.   

Now that you have your round pen staked out, dig/drill the holes and place your posts at each stake site (except the initial center stake which you wont need anymore) and tamp them in. You can use woven wire, horse mesh wire, or even put up all wooden rails for your horse fence. But never use barbed wire around horses. Its not worth the veterinary bills. When using woven wire, start by securing the end to a gate post and unroll it all the way around to the second gate post, pulling it tight and securing it. Its best to top the wire with a wooden board railing all the way around just in case a spirited horse decides to try and climb out. Then hang your gate, and your round pen is finished. Ive built two round pens using this method, and will be adding a third this spring.

Once we have our round pen, its time to start our colts training. When working a horse in a round pen, remember that your body position is important in controlling the animal. If you stand forward of the horses withers as hes going around you, he will naturally be inclined to slow down and stop. If you stand back toward his hip as he moves around you, he will want to speed up. To keep your horse on an even pace, stand facing him with your body between his withers and hip as he works around you. Simply step forward to slow him down, and step back to speed him up, using a longe whip to reinforce your cues.

We want to teach our colt to follow our voice commands. Teach him to halt, walk, trot, and canter around you in both directions by using these methods. When you first turn the colt loose in the pen, step back toward his hip to encourage him forward, waving your whip at his hip, and giving the command to trot. Trotting is a good gait to warm up with. After a couple minutes, step toward the horses shoulder which will gain his attention and slow him down. Give the walk command and let him walk a ways before working for a few minutes at a canter. Bring him to a halt and let him stand for a half a minute or so. The halt should be his reward for working hard, then have him turn around and work in the opposite direction. You want to train your horse to be consistent in gait changes, and with turns and halts. When you are finished, ask for the halt then drop your whip and take a step or two backwards with eyes lowered. This is the signal that all the pressure is off and its time to quit. He will come to recognize this signal and start coming to you at the end of each lesson.

Starting a colt in the round pen opens the communication between human and horse. The horse learns to respect and listen to its handler. Voice commands are learned, and your horse gets in shape. Be consistent, positive and calm while using clear body language and voice commands. Reward your horse when hes done well and correct any misbehavior without losing your temper. Soon youll be ready to start him under saddle, which is the subject of next month's article.